Iran 2nd in Asian University Basketball Championship

Iran Payam-e Noor University team finished runner up at the 4th Asian University 3x3 Basketball Championship in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

On the fourth day of the continental event in the Malaysian capital, Iranian students lost the final game to the Civil Aviation University of China 15-13 in an intense match.

However, winning the silver was enough for Iran to qualify for the World University League finals in China in September, organized by the International University Sports Federation.

Ebrahim Beygi, Mohsen Abedi, Reza Zarei and Shayan Pourkaveh (three main players and one substitute) played for Payam-e Noor team.

On their way to the finals, the Iranians brought down Mongolian team 14-13 on Thursday in the semis while Chinese university defeated Fu Jen Catholic University of Taiwan 21-18.

 Semifinals

In an eye-catching game, Iranian and Mongolian players were a bit too aggressive. The defense from both sides was tight and none made a successful score in the first one minute.

After Mongolia made the first 2-point score, Iran instantly made 2 slam dunks in revenge. Every successful attack and defense ignited the passion of the audience. The screaming and shouting never stopped during the entire game.

Iran had the lead until the 5th minute, when Mongolia began to catch up, tying the score and taking the lead, which put Iran under intense pressure. Until the last 2 minutes, Iran caught up again and tied the match at 13-13. Both sides successfully blocked each other’s shots.

In the final moments Iran got a chance to shoot and score a point. Although Mongolia tried its best to fight back, the match was decided 14-13 in favor of Iran.

Mongolians had won the title of the third edition of Asian University 3x3 Basketball Championship in China while Payam-e Noor finished fifth.

For the fourth edition, Iran had four teams but the other three dropped out of the games. Payam-e Noor had one team in both the men and women’s categories while Tehran University had one team in the men’s division. Islamic Azad University sent one women’s team.

The event was also the first international exposure for Iran’s women’s teams in the Asian University Sports Federation games.

A total of 15 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams from nine countries and regions, including China, Hong Kong, Iran, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Taiwan took part in the event.